History SoYouWantTo / WriteAFightScene

* The InactionSequence. Dear lord, the InactionSequence! Any fan of ''Manga/DragonBall'' will tell you that much of an episode's length revolves around characters talking, delaying fights, or gathering energy. The audience will want you to get down to brass tacks, and you should oblige them.

* For sword fights, look into ''Film/ThePrincessBride,'' ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean,'' ''Franchise/StarWars'', and any JidaiGeki or {{Wuxia}} film.

* Anything by Creator/JohnWoo, particularly ''Film/TheKiller'' and ''Film/HardBoiled'', are the best sources to learn about GunFu.

** The former is actually fairly easy to avoid--all you have to do is have your characters trying to hit ''each other'' and not each other's weapons, unless one of them is an ActualPacifist who wants to avoid hurting or killing his opponent. The hard part of avoiding Flynning is not having the defending party moving to party strikes before he knows they're coming.

Ah, guns. The black sheep of the family. Creator/JohnWoo had to invent GunFu because Chinese audiences found gunfights boring, and there is indeed a certain wisdom to breaking out of the classic "We stand over here and shoot you while you stand over there and shoot us" mold of gunfights, no matter how realistic it may be. Thus, John Woo's methodology of using CombatParkour to spice up the gunplay must be implemented, maybe even brought UpToEleven with {{Flash Step}}s. Also, the GunKata of Kurt Wimmer's movies is something to look into, both the long-ranged [[SpinAttack Death Blossoms]] and the short-ranged "Sticky Hands [[RecycledInSpace with guns]]."

If you think that unarmed combat is just a couple of guys throwing punches at each other, think again! There's a plethora of styles that focus on different aspects of combat. If you want your character to try to end the fight as quickly as possible, with no sense of this or that move being "dishonorable," maybe try Krav Maga. Want some fancy kicks? Look into Wing Chun. Use the opponent's momentum to throw them off-balance and get the upper hand? Good ol' Judo. It's all a matter of which aspects of fighting interest you most, whether your character's style is more aggressive or more defensive, and how much showmanship you want to portray, compared to moves that are efficient and effective but less outwardly awesome.

* For GunKata, on the other hand, you'll need to look into ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'' and ''Film/{{Ultraviolet}}'', both by the same director.

If you want to spice up any of the above with SupernaturalMartialArts, KiManipulation are your bread and butter. A KamehameHadoken for the bare-knuckle brawler as well as a Shoryuken and HurricaneKick [[{{Shotoclone}} to complete the whole set]], a SwordBeam for any swordsman worth his salt, or you could even go full-on FullContactMagic. An outright WizardDuel is a tricky thing, though, as it can quickly degenerate into a standard BeamOWar, which can entertain for only so long as the viewer realizes that all the wizards throwing around epic magic beams are doing is standing still. To get around this, use such tricks as the ShapeshifterShowdown and the FightingSpirit to make a magic duel more interesting.

If you think that unarmed combat is just a couple of guys throwing punches at each other, think again! There's a plethora of styles that focus on different aspects of combat. If you want your character to try to end the fight as quickly as possible, with no sense of this or that move being "dishonorable," maybe try Krav Maga. Want some fancy kicks? Look into Wing Chun. Use the opponent's momentum to throw them off-balance and get the upper hand? Good ol' Judo. It's all a matter of which aspects of fighting interest you most, and how much showmanship you want to portray, compared to moves that are efficient and effective but less outwardly awesome.

For unarmed combat, you will need to familiarize yourself with a plethora of unarmed fighting styles. You'll have to look at boxing, savate, karate, taekwondo, muay thai, wing chun, capoeira, wrestling, judo, aikido....You get the idea. This type of combat is usually one-on-one, with a few exceptions (think of tag-team wrestling, for example), and normally makes for a much cleaner fight than most others, although not always--KickThemWhileTheyAreDown is a staple of wrestling, for example, and UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} and [[Creator/BruceLee Jeet Kune Do]] both have a groin strike move. Also use RapidFireFisticuffs, but use them sparingly--you don't want every fight degenerating into a PummelDuel.

If you want to spice up any of the above with SupernaturalMartialArts, KiAttacks are your bread and butter. A KamehameHadoken for the bare-knuckle brawler as well as a Shoryuken and HurricaneKick [[{{Shotoclone}} to complete the whole set]], a SwordBeam for any swordsman worth his salt, or you could even go full-on FullContactMagic. An outright WizardDuel is a tricky thing, though, as it can quickly degenerate into a standard BeamOWar, which can entertain for only so long as the viewer realizes that all the wizards throwing around epic magic beams are doing is standing still. To get around this, use such tricks as the ShapeshifterShowdown and the FightingSpirit to make a magic duel more interesting.

* The WizardDuel of ''Disney/TheSwordInTheStone'' is a great ShapeshifterShowdown that showcases that Disney still had it in UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation.

For unarmed combat, you will need to familiarize yourself with a plethora of unarmed fighting styles. You'll have to look at boxing, savate, karate, taekwondo, muay thai, wing chun, capoeira, wrestling, judo, aikido....You get the idea. This type of combat is usually one-on-one, with a few exceptions (think of tag-team wrestling, for example), and normally makes for a much cleaner fight than most others, although not always--KickThemWhileTheyAreDown is a staple of wrestling, for example, and UsefulNotes/Karate and [[Creator/BruceLee Jeet Kune Do]] both have a groin strike move. Also use RapidFireFisticuffs, but use them sparingly--you don't want every fight degenerating into a PummelDuel.

* For GunKata, on the other hand, you'll need to look into ''Film/Equilibrium'' and ''Film/Ultraviolet'', both by the same director.

* For unarmed combat of any kind, nothing beats a good old-fashioned boxing/wrestling ring in a room light [[{{Chiaroscuro}} just right]] to ensure that the focus is on the fight rather than the audience (unless you want a FunnyBackgroundEvent, but you don't want those taking the audience's attention too far away from the actual fight).

!! Props Deparment

* For a BattleOfWits, the best place to look is ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. Also read ''Literature/TheArtOfWar'' by Sun Tzu
** If you want to make your BattleOfWits a little faster-paced than most others

* For unarmed combat of any kind, nothing beats a good old-fashioned boxing/wrestling ring in a room light [[Chiaroscuro just right]] to ensure that the focus is on the fight rather than the audience (unless you want a FunnyBackgroundEvent, but you don't want those taking the audience's attention too far away from the actual fight).

For starters, you'll need two characters who are rivals or enemies. You'll need them either to have [[WeaponsAndWieldingTropes weapons]] or be proficient in martial arts. And you'll need them to have a reason to fight--whether one fighter wants revenge, justice, or money from defeating the other or they're both fighting in a tournament, they need to have ''some'' reason to get into the ring.

* Anything by Creator/BruceLee is a good guide for realistic martial arts scenes. ''TheTaoOfJeetKuneDo'' is particularly good for both learning martial arts and figuring out how to have your character come off as an experienced fighter

* For a BattleOfWits, the best place to look is ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''.
* If you want to mix {{Slapstick}} into your fight scene, check out the works of Creator/JackieChan.

For unarmed combat, you will need to familiarize yourself with a plethora of unarmed fighting styles. You'll have to look at boxing, savate, karate, taekwondo, muay thai, wing chun, capoeira, wrestling, judo, aikido....You get the idea. This type of combat is usually one-on-one, with a few exceptions (think of tag-team wrestling, for example), and normally makes for a much cleaner fight than most others, although not always--KickThemWhileTheyAreDown is a staple of wrestling, for example, and UsefulNotes/Karate and [[Creator/BruceLee Jeet Kune Do]] both have a groin strike move.

If you want to spice up any of the above with SupernaturalMartialArts, KiAttacks are your bread and butter. A KamehameHadoken for the bare-knuckle brawler as well as a Shoryuken and HurricaneKick [[Shotoclone to complete the whole set]], a SwordBeam for any swordsman worth his salt, or you could even go full-on FullContactMagic. An outright WizardDuel is a tricky thing, though, as it can quickly degenerate into a standard BeamOWar, which can entertain for only so long as the viewer realizes that all the wizards throwing around epic magic beams are doing is standing still. To get around this, use such tricks as the ShapeshifterShowdown and the FightingSpirit to make a magic duel more interesting.

When it comes to this type of fight scene, don't think you have to have your characters stay in the same spot. Not only does {{Wuxia}} set a precedent for [[WireFu high-flying acrobatics]] to spice up a sword fight, but even without it, {{Chase Fight}}s are common--the duel between Westley and Inigo in ''Film/ThePrincessBride'', the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', and the three-way fight between Jack, Will, and Norrington in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCarribeanDeadMansChest''.

For unarmed combat, you will need to familiarize yourself with a plethora of unarmed fighting styles. You'll have to look at boxing, savate, karate, taekwondo, muay thai, wing chun, capoeira, wrestling, judo, aikido....You get the idea. This type of combat is usually one-on-one, with a few exceptions (think of tag-team wrestling, for example), and normally makes for a much cleaner fight than most others.

Ah, guns. The black sheep of the family. Creator/JohnWoo had to invent GunFu because Chinese audiences found gunfights boring, and there is indeed a certain wisdom to breaking out of the classic "We stand over here and shoot you while you stand over there and shoot us" mold of gunfights, no matter how realistic it may be. Thus, John Woo's methodology of using CombatParkour to spice up the gunplay must be implemented, maybe even brought UpToEleven with {{Flash Step}}s. Also, the GunKata of Kurt Wimmer's movies is something to look into, both the long-ranged [[SpinAttack Death Blossoms]] and the short-ranged "Sticky Hands [[RecycledInSpace with guns]].

* For a BattleOfWits, the best place to look is ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''.